Rock ballads are the perfect vehicle for feelings of nostalgia. The slower tempos often cause listeners to slow down themselves. Reflect on the past, perhaps long for it. Music can be like a great time machine. The right track can claw back history and pull an old decade off the dusty shelf. Back to one’s coming-of-age years. To a time before you’d cringe at a former version of yourself. I think music can help us be kinder to ourselves. A way to appreciate where we stand and who we are today.
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Ballads can also make us feel profoundly sad about what we’ve lost. So as you stare at old photographs of yourself in groovy clothes and awesome hair, allow these three nostalgic rock ballads take you back to the 1970s.
“Changes” by Black Sabbath
Few associate Black Sabbath with piano ballads, but “Changes” is one of my favorite tracks by the heavy metal pioneers. First, it showcases what a great singer Ozzy Osbourne was. But also, the song describes the end of a long-term relationship. In most circumstances, moving on can be difficult. However, when a partner chooses to leave while the other is still in love, it makes change feel impossible. It’s mourning the past, but a version of yourself—defined by the relationship—that no longer exists. “I’ve lost the best friend that I ever had.”
“Dream On” by Aerosmith
Steven Tyler wrote “Dream On” as a teenager, before Aerosmith had formed. The song builds to an epic ending, and part of it is hopeful, but the outro harpsichord sounds like a warning. And throughout the song, Tyler feels time running out. He notices his aging face while staring at a mirror. He acknowledges piles of books offering advice, accumulated wisdom, and the history of life’s fleeting reality. But as his band builds to a classic rock crescendo, Tyler begins to scream. Raging against the inevitable. “Dream on!”
“I’ve Loved These Days” by Billy Joel
A deep cut from Turnstiles, Billy Joel sings about a couple burning through money they don’t have. They party, wear fine clothes, sleep in satin sheets, but they know the gig will soon be up. Joel’s wistful piano ballad could be a metaphor for life, youth, and the doomed fate of all things. We might spend money like we waste time. Convince ourselves of myths that alter reality as much as this couple’s drinking and drug habits. One last hurrah before the time, the cash, the chances all run out. “We hide our hearts from harder times.”
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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